A little explaining - I bought this rifle about 20 years ago at a gun show. New condition, but no sights on it. I put a low Lyman 17A on the front, with narrow post. I had a Williams sight on it, but wanted better. I took a 1903 Springfield base, cut it longitudinally, and had a machinist friend drill it to match the scope mount holes in the barrel. Now I had a staff elevator sight with infinite elevation and plenty of windage adjustment. Mounted to the barrel, not the stock. Then I accumulated a few bullet moulds. I was ready to experiment - but life intervened - get the house ready to sell in Mass., Move to Maine, find a job, prepare the garden, repair the farmhouse we bought, etc.
So today I began to really shoot this rifle. The first load is the Lyman 550 gr. 457676 designed by Schmitt (?) at Lyman, with a 1/8" card wad and 26.0 gr. XMP-5744. The wad is to protect the bullet base, and is not seated down on the powder - I don't want a ringed chamber. Group is about 1 1/2" at 100 yd. My intent is to get sight settings. I started with the 400 setting, which put this load 8" above POA at 100 yd.
Then I shifted to a 300 yd. target, a white painted board 14x24 inches. It is hard to see the sights, but it was suggested to me that reading glasses would clarify the sights, and the target was seen through a peep so it would remain relatively clear. This proved to be good advice. Here are the results:
Peep at 400 - shot lost low
Peep at 600 - shot 30 yards short
Peep at 700 - shot 10 yards short
Peep at 800 - shot 18" low
Peep at 900 - hits 4 to 7 inches above POA
As you can see from the above, the load is not particularly high velocity, but this is fun and I am glad to be able to get back to prove my rifle / sight combination. I quit for awhile because after 12 shots with this 550 gr. bullet I was getting to where I felt I might start flinching. I'll get back to it during the week with other bullets and loads.